Zulfiqar Ali Diagnosed with Cancer in Prison, says human rights group

Zulfiqar Ali, a Pakistani national who is on death row in Indonesian jail, is diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer, said a human rights group Justice Project Pakistan (JPP).

Zulfiqar was arrested in Indonesia in 2004. The charges on him are related to drugs. According to doctors, his life expectancy is about three months.

Zulfiqar’s case was highlighted in 2016, when Indonesian authorities notified embassy of Pakistan in Jakarta that Zulfiqar will face serious consequences on the possession of the case related to drugs. His death sentences was halted after the involvement of human rights group and United Nations appealed. He was arrested from his home by Indonesian police.

According to JPP, For three days, he was “kicked, punched and threatened with death” by the Soekarno-Hatta Airport district police until he was forced to sign a “self-incriminating confession”.

When the his case came in to the knowledge of the world, after that prime minister Nawaz Sharif worked on it and was successful in halting the death execution of Zulfiqar.